1) Milquetoast-ism: The DNC is paralyzed in the face of The Right's withering onslaught of propaganda.
If ‘Every Journey Begins With The First Step’, then it’s been failure right out of the gate when Democratic Candidates shrink away from our Democratic President Obama, thereby giving credence to Republicans negative falsehoods about him and his accomplishments.
The 2014 Midterms simply demonstrated the failure of DNC’s strategy of Appeasement (evidenced by Red District & Red State Dems frightened of being viewed as too Liberal -- Harry Reid allegedly advising POTUS to postpone Immigration Exec Order till after election -- Dems running away from POTUS policies and achievements).
This failed strategy I hope is clear to you: concede ground to The Right and it will never be reclaimed, and our Candidates end up standing for nothing. Appeasement not only loses Dem electorate interest (=low turnout), but also loses the respect of Undecideds (=who then swing to GOP).
To paraphrase an earlier era's political wake-up: "It's the Liberalism, Stupid!".
How did Obama enliven the electorate? It was his unabashed proclamation of a Liberal point of view, sometimes Progressive, sometimes Centrist, but always Liberal. Most Americans prefer the Liberal Lifestyle but don't recognize it as such. It's the DNC's job to educate and recruit them.
I hope everyone acknowledges that straight Progressivism in undiluted form won't fly in many regions of our Country. However, Dem Candidates running in Red Districts & States, who mute their Liberalism by leavening it with some of their Electorate’s Conservatism, Must Still Stand Strong With Our Party’s President!
The only way we can carve out our place in the sun is to draw a hard line, gird our loins, and do battle. In that Non-Fail alternate universe, Alison Grimes would have responded to pressure about whether she voted for Obama with, "You’re Darn Right I voted for Obama, and look at how gas is lower than $3, we've had xx straight months of job growth, and the stock market is double from when he took office after the last Republican President who tanked our economy in the biggest collapse since the Great Depression!".
You’ll never garner Republican votes that way – so what? – but standing strong wins even begrudging respect from Undecideds – and is often followed by winning their votes. And isn’t that the name of the game in Red Districts and States?
2) Another paraphrase for your consideration: "It's the Branding, Stupid!"
Democrats unduly confine themselves to ideas and particulars many of which involve critical thinking skills beyond a majority of today's electorate. I understand – we’re fearful of slipping into mere rhetoric and demagoguery. However, instead of cringing at that same when it’s blasted at us by the Right-Wing, we must refine and distill our Liberal message then have people repeat it on TV and radio all day long, which is the only way we’ll enable our fast-paced low-info voters to absorb our truths.
Conversely, Republicans expertly market their Brand via False Noise Network + the daily troupe of talking heads trained by Frank Lutz, which together comprise a 24/7 Infomercial that trains the electorate into GOP Brand Loyalty. The GOP market branding is simple: "Be one of us and you're automatically better than everyone who isn't one of us". This show LBJ's trenchant insight still applies: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you".
We must be strong and face this historical challenge to reverse the Right-Wing propaganda which has insinuated itself into mainstream media.
3) Dead-In-The-Water-ism
Having been heavily involved in Organizing For America, I’m utterly astonished that their sterling analysis, groundwork, and voter engagement has not yet been assimilated by the DNC! Obama would clearly never have been elected to either term, if left to the DNC alone. For the 2014 Midterms, it took MoveOn partnered with DailyKos to set up online phone banking (which reaches out person-to-person to neutralize prevailing mainstream media falsehoods). OFA led the way in drawing together a tight working force for electoral success, whereas evidently the present-day DNC is still hampered by the hackneyed 'herding cats' dictum (i.e., Uniting Democrats is like herding cats, i.e., impossible eyeroll+shrug).
Right now the DNC is nearly a corpse and will only revive its electoral mo-jo if, loud and clear, they explicitly reject Right-Wing maligning of Obama, and instead stand strong with our astonishingly dedicated, good-willed, and effective-in-the-face-of-unprecedented-obstructionism President. Need I remind you he won the popular vote, twice?